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Maybe this is TMI, but I feel a responsibility to those who are looking for tips from the patients on coping with the preparation for the colonoscopy. I'm not 50 (and thank heavens won't be for another 20 years; 50 is the age that is recommended for having a colonoscopy and then every 10 years after, so long as the doctor doesn't find any abnormalities) but have had abdominal pain for about 6 months and wasn't happy with being diagnosed with IBS without more tests being run. Of course the two weeks prior to the procedure the pain went away, although it came back after the colonoscopy--probably due to colon irritation.

Tip #1. Ask for the pills (sodium phospate). The majority of people I have talked to who have had this procedure all agree that the laxative in drink form which is required to clean you out before the procedure is putrid. Mine came with five flavor packets to make it taste better. I chose orange. Unfortunately, my bathroom soap had a citrus scent so I smelled orange for a few days later, which after drinking the Trilyte was not a good thing! I puked the last liter of Trilyte the morning of the procedure and since I wasn't "cleaned out" enough (more about this to follow) had to run to the pharmacy and pick up magnesium citrate because this is a powerful laxative. So I recommend asking for pills! I didn't know this was an option. My bishop did this because he had heard about the drink. He said the only problem he had was that he hard to drink a ton of water.

Tip #2: Eat less and only easy-to-digest foods two days before the procedure. I had a difficult time getting cleaned out. I ate whatever I could two days before because I knew I could only eat liquid foods the day before the procedure. Also, I ate green Jello during the "cleaning out" process which turned my stool green and made it difficult to determine if my stool was clear enough for the procedure (see Tip #5).

Tip #3: Drink, drink, drink that water! I didn't drink as much water as I should have and was a bit dehydrated for the procedure. My blood pressure was unusually low, think 15-20 points less than usual. Also, the nurse had a difficult time getting the IV into my veins (also unusual--my veins tend to be pretty hearty).

Tip #4: Take sufficient amount of time off work. The patient is supposed to begin taking the laxative in the late afternoon the day before the procedure. You will not be able to work because: a) you may have to drink the laxative very 10 minutes (which comes all to soon even in the safety of your home where you can control what you do) and b) you are taking a laxative and will spend a lot of time on the toilet. Then take the day of the procedure off, as well as the day after. The patient is typically put out under a light anesthesia during the scope and cannot drive for 12-24 hours after, plus you'll spend more time on the toilet (the aftereffects of the laxative). You may also still feel the effects of the laxative the day after or experience discomfort in the colon even if you don't have any polyps removed. So take 2.5 days off work!

Tip #5: "Cleaned out" means there may be some particles and the liquid stool may have a yellow tint to it. I was so worried that the colonoscopy would be postponed and I'd have to go through the hell of the Trilyte again because I still had particles (sorry, guys!) and color to the stool. The nurse told me this was okay and that the procedure could still take place.

John Hopkins also offers some nice tips. Hopefully my tips will also be of some use and make the experience a little less distressful.

Disclaimer: I am not a health professional. Follow this tips at your own risk! Be sure to follow the counsel of your doctor and ask plenty of questions.

Saturday morning was our first gig at the Leavitt's Community Garden in our neighborhood. The garden began as a resource to help alleviate the financial stresses of neighborhood residents. The Leavitt family who owns the big plots of land next to and in front of our apartment building donated some land to grow the garden. It has all the typical vegetables in a vegetable garden, plus some herbs and flowers. When they were asking for volunteers I volunteered since I've always wanted a garden (which is difficult to do in an apartment, although my sunflowers will be blooming any day now!) and enjoy being outside. Plus, (and no, he doesn't know this, but if he'd read my blog he would--heh, heh) I wanted Russ to spend a fraction of his time doing something outside, particularly physical labor, and performing some service for people outside our immediate family.

From the beginning, I've received the emails for the volunteers, including the one with all the assignments. I couldn't find our name on the chart and assumed they must have overlooked our great desire to participate. That was fine because of this and that and the other--maybe I was even kind of looking for an "out." Then last Saturday our home teacher asked Russ if we could weed the first two rows of tomatoes ("It should only take 30 minutes," Ryan said) since his family would be out of town for the week and Russ and I were assigned to the same two rows. Boy do we feel like jerks! Maybe I should learn to pay more attention to detail....

We decided to work together (Russ's idea, which I'm very happy for :). We weren't sure what the weeds would look like (they certainly didn't look like the ones we dug up in Texas), but determined they must be the plants that didn't have tomatoes growing on them. Luckily, another couple that volunteered dropped by and confirmed we were pulling up the right plants. It took an hour because we were so thorough. After about 30 minutes we began wondering if everyone else was so thorough. We were hot, sore, and covered in dirt (which I particularly like, although Russ remains true to his inner self--he hates physical labor and the heat). We also decided we need to pull our weight and have discussed this with our co-family. We're taking a row for ourselves (and, no, the other gardeners apparently don't spend as much time weeding the community garden as they do their own personal gardens).

It is fun to be a part of "something" and to now be committed to participate. Hopefully, we'll learn a lot for that "someday" when we have our own lawn and maybe a little flower garden and a small vegetable garden. Of course, this experience may also help us decide to just buy our veggies at the supermarket.

Independence Day weekend was super fun. Russ and I decided to spend the weekend with just the two of us and went to Cedar City. We primarily went for the Utah Shakespeare Festival, which is really well done. We also made a spur of the moment decision to spend Sunday at Bryce National Park, after Russ realized how close we were.

It rained a bit on the 4th so unfortunately we only hit the Independence Day events going on in the city's park, went to lunch, ran a lot of errands, and read in the hotel room. The local shops in Cedar City were closed due to the holiday so our options were pretty limited as to what local activities to do.

As You Like It was wonderful! Shakespeare's plays are meant to be seen and not just read. High school English teachers should show their students the play and then have them read it--or have them read along to the performance. Turns out this was one Shakespeare play I had not read so I started reading it a few days before the show. I thought I was getting it all but missed some important parts of the plot. Russ had no problem understanding what was happening without reading the play first. I'm excited for next year's plays, particularly Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth.

Since we had planned on hiking in Cedar Breaks National Monument on Saturday, we had our hiking apparel. Our plans were thwarted due to mother nature, but luckily Sunday had perfect weather so we went to Bryce. Russ has fond memories of a family vacation to the park in junior high, although he only remembers a hike. He thinks that all kids would rather play video games than visit a park, which is completely opposite of me. My parents instilled a love of nature and hiking at a young age. Still, he was excited when he saw we were only 1.5 hours away from the park so we spent Sunday there. We drove through the park, stopping at all the scenic overlooks. Russ had his picture taken with some ravens that loved people. We also heard many different languages, including a lot of French speakers, who I tried to eavesdrop on but could only make out a few sentences and words.

We also went on a hike down into the canyon. We saw lots of chipmunks and beautiful birds (one had a green back--think grass green). It is amazing that the hoodoos and other rock formations are randomly created by erosion. They look like they were deliberately carved by a sculptor's hand. I'll post pics once I get the film developed (we had to buy a camera since I can't my digital one).

Halfway through the hike we ran into a couple. The male was feeling sick so they asked us to get a park ranger once we made it back up the canyon. We decided to cut the hike short and went up a shorter, yet steeper hike. I really need to learn to pace myself! I tend to just go at the same pace regardless of steepness and there were times I felt I was about to pass out--not to mention I was in a hurry in case the gent had worse problems. Luckily, Russ is a pro at pacing. I went ahead since I'm in better shape but still had problems. I made it to the top after finally slowing down and walking with a lady who's family left her behind. A ranger was headed over to close the trail anyway. Apparently there were others who were having problems and a couple of stretchers were headed up the path. The ranger also said there were about 6 other hikers who requested help.

The weekend was very relaxing and fun. We tend to spend most holidays or long weekends with family so it was nice to really get away just the two of us. We both had lots of fun and talked about plans for other national park trips in the future. Southern Utah has many beautiful sights and we might as well see them before we leave the state.

Anyone who is interested in the Shakespeare Festival for next summer/fall should let us know and we can make it a date!